Systems and methods for automated customer fulfillment of products

ABSTRACT

The systems and methods described herein may be used to distribute goods to a consumer. The system may comprise a distribution device and system, a regulatory system, a customer relationship management system and an artificial intelligence system. The methods may comprise distributing an item to a consumer in fully automated or a partially automated process. The methods may comprise distributing a item to a consumer in a manner compliant with regulations.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/231,578 filed on Dec. 23, 2018 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORAUTOMATED CUSTOMER FULFILLMENT OF PRODUCTS,” which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/609,872 filed on Dec. 22,2017 and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED CUSTOMER FULFILLMENTOF REGULATED PRODUCTS,” both of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for automatedfulfillment of products (e.g. goods). In particular, the disclosurerelates to a system and method that can at least partially automateorder fulfillment and dispensing of a product to a customer.

BACKGROUND

Sales of restricted or regulated products such as controlled substancesgenerally require, pursuant to certain laws, regulations or licenserequirements, a person-to-person sales exchange between the customer andthe sales agent. The sales agent confirms certain qualifications of aprospective purchaser, such as proper age, legal residence, or otherpurchase eligibility criteria. The possibility of unlawful sales ofregulated products is usually mitigated by state laws requiring, forexample, that these products be secure and inaccessible to the generalpublic, and their access being limited to authorized staff. Due to suchregulations, fully automated vending is not compliant. Thus, thebenefits and efficiencies of traditional methods of automateddistribution of regulated goods cannot be recognized.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure includes systems, methods, and/or articles ofmanufacture for distribution of a product. In various embodiments, asystem for compliant and automated customer fulfillment of a regulatedproduct to a customer is provided. A system can comprise a productdispensing apparatus and a remote interface operable by an authorizedagent. In various embodiments, a system can be configured such that aregulated product may only be dispensed to a customer in response to aninput to the system by an authorized agent. In various embodiments, asystem and/remote interface may be interoperable with a productdispensing apparatus provided by third parties. In various embodiments,the components of a system or the steps of a method may be modularlyand/or dynamically configurable to provide compatibility with aplurality of regulatory frameworks for regulated product sales.

In various embodiments, a method may comprise determining, by a firstagent in a computer-based system for distributing regulated goods to aconsumer, that the consumer is authorized to shop for the regulatedgoods. The systems enable a vending device, which is part of the system,to receive input from the consumer. The vending device receives inputthat includes a first item selected by the consumer. The regulated goodscomprise a plurality of regulated items and the plurality of regulateditems comprises the first item. The system transmits a distributionreview request and receives a distribution authorization from a secondagent. In various embodiments, the second agent is presented with thedistribution request data and the second agent is a human person. Aregulation governing the distribution of the item may require that adistribution review be conducted by a person. The distribution reviewrequest may include distribution request data comprises at least one ofthe first item, a distribution regulation, a consumer attribute, anattribute of the first item, a second item, an attribute of a seconditem, and a calculation based upon an attribute of the first item and anattribute of a second item. The second agent determines a distributiondecision based upon the distribution request data and a third regulationassociated with the regulated goods. Based upon the distributiondecision, the second agent enters the distribution authorization into aninput device in communication with the system. The vending devicedistributes the first item to the consumer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings. The left-most digit of a reference numberidentifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system diagram, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary distribution device, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary distribution device configured with sensorsand/or cameras, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart depicting an exemplary process for compliantdistribution of a regulated item.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart depicting an exemplary process for distributionof an item initiated by a push notification to a consumer.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart depicting an exemplary process for creating asuggestion using an artificial intelligence capability.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart depicting an exemplary process for remotesupport of a distribution device.

FIG. 8 shows a screen shot of an exemplary user interface of adistribution system.

FIG. 9 shows a screen shot of an exemplary user interface of adistribution system.

FIG. 10 shows a screen shot of an exemplary user interface of adistribution system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a system and method for at leastpartially automated fulfillment of a customer order for a regulatedproduct. In various embodiments, a system may comprise a productdispensing device configured to incorporate at least a portion of adisclosed system and perform at least a portion of a disclosed method.In various embodiments, a system may comprise a peripheral deviceseparate and/or remote from the product dispensing apparatus. Aperipheral device can be configured to control or perform variousfunctions such as promotion, eligibility verification, retrieval,delivery, and payment exchange of a regulated or non-regulated product.In various embodiments, compliance with regulatory requirements need notbe completely performed or assured by a product dispensing apparatus,and certain regulatory compliance measures may be performed orcontrolled by an authorized agent. A system may provide an authorizedagent with assistance in performance of regulatory compliance measuresthrough interactive features of the system. In various embodiments, asystem may be configured so that no customer fulfillment may occurwithout the intervention of an authorized agent.

Currently distribution devices, such as vending machines, do not allowfor and/or implement manual intervention. Such manual intervention maybe preferred or required for both regulated and non-regulated goods. Forregulated goods, manual intervention may enable the supervision andcontrol required by states. There are opportunities to provide acompliant automated distribution method and system with processautomation, remote access and device control technology in order to meetregulatory requirements, enable compliance across varying regulatoryregimes, increase revenue, increase safety and education and enhancecustomer experience and outcomes

While storing regulated products in secured physical locations may be anappropriate security measure, it creates significant inefficiencies inthe sales and customer fulfillment process. Taking the customer order,waiting for identification, verifying identity, retrieving thecontrolled substance, and requesting payment are all steps that must behandled manually and in a specified sequence by a sales agent from startto finish.

Manual verification related to sales of regulated products is becomingan increasing burden to retailers and their staff, resulting inincreased costs and decreased revenue. Reduced customer throughput canalso impact tax revenue for governments in jurisdictions in whichregulated products are sold, since reduced customer throughput cantranslate into lost sales opportunities and lost tax revenue that theregulatory framework often provides. Furthermore, since some taxwrite-offs are limited for distributors of a controlled substance thatis federally illegal, in addition to the direct benefit of reducing thecosts of distributors, it may also be beneficial to the distributorsfrom tax standpoint.

While reducing costs to distributors and increasing revenue to taxjurisdictions and to distributors are monetary benefits of automating acompliant distribution process, there are benefits to the public aswell. States have prohibited full automation of certain regulated goodsor controlled substances such as cannabis for safety reasons. Realizingthe efficiencies of automation while maintaining compliance with laws,regulations and rules provides safety benefits to the public. Examplesof safety measures enabled include; requiring that tangible consumeridentification is verified by a person at point of purchase; ensuringaccumulators for daily purchase amounts are not exceeded—morespecifically state-set product mixes that are difficult for employees tocalculate accurately, creating a compliance gap and a safety issue;ensuring out of state customers are restricted in purchase amountsdifferently than in-state residents; preventing an industry term knownas “smurfing” where customers can exceed daily purchase amounts bypurchasing from multiple different stores; automated tracking ofpurchase history that does not breach individuals' data privacy rights;and configuration that ensures the distribution hardware meets staterequirements for a restricted access area.

In addition to the safety benefits to consumers, compliant automation toconsumers also provides for an enhanced and more effective use ofregulated products by consumers. Providing innovative, AI driven,product recommendations will inform consumers of products that may meetthe consumers medical, therapeutic or recreational needs moreeffectively and without unwanted effects. Similarly, compliantautomation provides an opportunity to educate consumers on productbenefits and safety considerations related to regulated items.

The detailed description of various embodiments herein makes referenceto the accompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiments byway of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thedisclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized, and that logical and mechanical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, thedetailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustrationonly and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of themethod or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are notlimited to the order presented. Moreover, any of the functions or stepsmay be outsourced to or performed by one or more third parties.Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, andany reference to more than one component may include a singularembodiment.

Phrases and terms similar to “consumer,” “customer,” “user,” “accountholder,” “agent” or the like may be used interchangeably and may includeany person, group, entity, business, organization, business, software,hardware, machine and/or combination of these, and may, in variousembodiments, be associated with a transaction account. In variousembodiments, an agent may include a human person that is trained,licensed, certified or otherwise authorized to perform certain steps,verifications or authorizations in accordance with regulations governingthe marketing offer, sale or distribution or regulated items.

Phrases and terms similar to “business,” “merchant,” “serviceestablishment,” or “SE” may be used interchangeably with each other andshall mean any person, entity, distributor system, software and/orhardware that is a provider, broker and/or any other entity in thedistribution chain of goods or services. For example, a merchant may bea retail store, a dispensary, an entity that sells a regulated productor provides a regulated service, an agency, a service provider, anon-line merchant and/or the like.

Terms such as “transmit,” “communicate” and/or “deliver” may includesending electronic data from one system component to another over anetwork connection. Additionally, as used herein, “data” may includeinformation such as commands, queries, files, digitized image, audio orvideo data, data for storage, and/or the like in digital form or in anyother form. In various embodiments, data may be formatted in accordancewith any protocol or standard (e.g., HTTP, HTML, etc.)

A “transaction” may include one or more approved authorizations.Moreover, the phrase “transaction data” may comprise data associatedwith one or more transactions. In various embodiments, an authorizationmay be approved by a payment processor and/or electronic payment servicein response to a transaction request, which may be initiated by aconsumer and/or a merchant.

A “regulation” may include one or more regulations, rules, laws,statutes, ordinances, processes, requirements, limits, and/or thresholdsof any jurisdiction, governing body, association and/or authority. Aregulation may be a single rule or a set of related rules andrequirements with mandated processes and procedures.

Phrases and terms similar to “item” may include any good, service,information, experience, data, content, access, benefit, right, reward,points, coupons, credits, monetary equivalent, anything of value,something of minimal or no value, offer, suggestion, merchant, type ofmerchant, demographic data, preference data, consumer profile data,consumer profile, type of transaction account, transaction account,period of time (e.g., a period of time a consumer has been a customer ofa service establishment), and/or the like. In various embodiments, anitem may comprise a regulated items in a type of regulated good.

An “offer,” “promotion,” or “suggestion” may comprise any data and/orinformation. An offer may comprise one or more items. In addition, anoffer may comprise data associated with one or more items. An offer mayfurther comprise one or more characteristics or metadata. Thecharacteristics or metadata associated with an offer may describe one ormore attributes associated with the offer, such as for example, pricing,discount, eligibility, exclusions or expiration data. Further, invarious embodiments, an offer may comprise an offer to purchase good orservice offered for sale by a merchant or SE. Similarly, in variousembodiments, an offer may be associated with a merchant or SE.

A “channel” may include any system or method for delivering contentand/or the content itself. The content may be presented in any form ormedium, and in various embodiments, the content may be deliveredelectronically and/or capable of being presented electronically. Forexample, a channel may comprise a website, a uniform resource locator(“URL”), a document (e.g., a Microsoft Word document, a Microsoft Exceldocument, an Adobe pdf document, etc.), an “ebook,” an “emagazine,” anapplication or micro-application (as described herein), a mobile devicegraphical notification (e.g., a banner or badge), a text message, anemail, and/or the like. In various embodiments, a channel may be hostedor provided by a data partner. Further, in various embodiments, achannel may comprise a social media channel, such as FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN,TWITTER, and/or the like.

A “consumer profile” or “consumer profile data” may comprise anyinformation or data about a consumer that describes an attributeassociated with the consumer (“consumer attribute”) (e.g., a preference,an interest, demographic information, personally identifyinginformation, and/or the like). In various embodiments, a consumerprofile may be based upon a variety of data. For example, a consumerprofile may be based upon data that is received, culled, collected,and/or derived from a variety of sources, such as a consumer'stransaction history, a consumer's online activity, data associated withor available via a consumer's social networking profile (e.g., aconsumer's FACEBOOK profile), data associated with a customer's physicallocation, and/or other publicly and/or privately available sources ofinformation about a consumer. In various embodiments, a consumer profilemay not be based upon such data, unless a consumer opts in or requeststhat such data be used.

Further, in various embodiments, a consumer profile may be based upondata contributed by a consumer, a merchant, a third party, and/or an SE(as described herein). Such data may comprise, for example, a consumer'spersonal information, e.g., demographic information, a consumer's dateof birth, a consumer's residence information, an address of theconsumer's work, a specific preference associated with the consumer(e.g., a preference for a certain type of vacation, such as a preferencefor a tropical vacation), a website in which the consumer is interested,and/or the like. Further, a consumer may contribute data towards aconsumer profile by way of a form and/or questionnaire, such as, forexample, a web-based form or questionnaire.

With further regard to the types of data which may be contributed to aconsumer profile, in general, any information that a consumer would liketo serve as a basis for a consumer profile may be contributed. Forinstance, a consumer profile may comprise location data (e.g., dataassociated with a global positioning system, a home address, data abouta consumer's most visited or favorite places), data associated with aconsumer's favorite websites, digital destinations or services (e.g.,blogs, news websites, shopping websites, music subscription services,video subscriptions services, video game preferences or usage etc.),personal data (e.g., email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers,age information, income information, prescription data, medicinal,herbal or recreational usage data, etc.), data associated with aconsumer's status or mode of travel (e.g., vacation data, lodging data),data associated with a consumer's favorite items (e.g., food,restaurants, groceries, electronics, music, gaming, clothing types,hobbies, fitness, etc.), and/or the like.

In addition, in various embodiments, a consumer profile may includeonline tracking cookie data, web beacon data, web tracking data, webpacket trace data, digital fingerprint data, clickstream data, purchaseor transaction history data, data entered by a consumer in a web basedform, data purchased by a merchant about a consumer, social networkingdata, banking and/or credit card data, stock keeping unit (“SKU”) data,transactional and/or budget data, coupon data, retail data (e.g., itemspurchased, wish lists, etc.), data from third party personal dataaggregators, search engine data, and/or any other data which themerchant may have in its possession or to which the merchant may gainaccess.

Phrases and terms similar to “account,” “transaction account,” “customernumber,” “account code,” and/or “consumer account” may include anyaccount that may be used to facilitate a transaction (e.g., a purchaseof a good or service), offer an item, or associate data with a consumer.These accounts may include any device, code (e.g., one or more of anauthorization/access code, encrypted code, QR code, hash code, one-timeuse code, personal identification number (“PIN”), Internet code, otheridentification code, and/or the like), number, letter, symbol, digitalcertificate, smart chip, digital signal, analog signal, biometric orother identifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer toaccess, interact with or communicate with the system.

In various embodiments, a system may be configured to control the remotedispensing of a retail product and/or controlled substance from anonsite centralized control unit or dispensing device, where thedispensing of the item may be contingent on an authorized agent'svalidation of eligibility criteria, validation of payment, andauthorization to dispense to only the same individual whose electronicmetadata revealed during the identification scanning process istemporarily available as part of the process that initializes a user'sdigital order form. in various embodiments, systems and methods may beconfigured to, upon an acceptable form of identification being scannedby the product dispensing apparatus' peripheral hardware and deemedauthentic, generate a digital order form on a remote monitor thatprovides an authorized agent of a licensed retail and/or medicinalfacility complete control of authorizing the dispensing of thecontrolled substance from a secure, physical location that is bothrestricted in its access to approved or authorized members of thegeneral public and customers, as well s limited access by only thefacility's appointed agents.

In various embodiments, a system is provided that may comprise a webapplication and supporting hardware that, as a peripheral system, cancontrol different product dispensing apparatus or vending machinemanufacturer designs as a means of dispensing prepackaged controlledsubstances. In various embodiments, controlled substances can comprisecannabis products. In various embodiments, a system can be configured toprovide for dispensing controlled substances in a manner that is fullycompliant with prescribed regulations.

Accordingly, and with reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary distributionsystem 100 for distributing a good (e.g., a regulated item) to aconsumer is disclosed. In various embodiments, the distribution systemmay automate or partially automate activities that are regulated. Invarious embodiments, while system 100 may facilitate and optimizecertain activities or process steps, regulations may mandate thatcertain other activities or process steps be performed manually by aperson (e.g., human agent of a merchant). Thus, system 100 and thevarious methods disclosed herein, enable realization of the benefits ofautomation (as disclosed herein) while also enabling compliance withlaws, regulations and rules that may prohibit certain aspects of atransaction or customer interaction to be performed in an automatedmanner. In various embodiments, a distribution system 100 may comprise,a user 101, a distribution device 102, a network 110, a computing device112, regulatory system 124, a CRM system 122, an AI system 126, amerchant system 120 and a distribution system 132.

System 100 may include or interface with any accounts, devices, and/or atransponder and reader (e.g. RFID reader) in RF communication with thetransponder (which may include a fob), or communications between aninitiator and a target enabled by near field communications (NFC).Typical devices may include, for example, a key ring, tag, card, cellphone, wristwatch or any such form capable of being presented forinterrogation. Moreover, the system, computing unit or device discussedherein may include a “pervasive computing device,” which may include atraditionally non-computerized device that is embedded with a computingunit. Furthermore, a device or financial transaction instrument may haveelectronic and communications functionality enabled, for example, by: anetwork of electronic circuitry that is printed or otherwiseincorporated onto or within the transaction instrument (and typicallyreferred to as a “smart card”); a fob having a transponder and an RFIDreader; and/or near field communication (NFC) technologies.

User 101 may include any user, person, entity, software, hardware,machine and/or combination of these. In various embodiments, a user 101may be an agent authorized or credentialed to conduct and assesscompliance with regulations for regulated goods and/or particularregulated items in a class of regulated goods. In various embodiments,an agent may use a computing device 112 (as disclosed herein) that isconfigured with a distribution system 132 or distribution module 133 (asdisclosed herein). In various embodiments, a user 101 may be an employeeof a merchant that uses system 100 for administrative, maintenance orcustomer relationship management functions. In various embodiments, auser 101 may be a consumer that accesses certain functions and featuresof distribution system 132 via a micro-app (“app”) or web page. Aconsumer may also access the functions of distribution system 132 viadistribution device 102.

A network 110 may include any electronic communications system or methodwhich incorporates hardware and/or software components (e.g. a “cloud”or “cloud computing” system, as described herein). Communication amongparties via network 110 may be accomplished through any suitablecommunication channels, such as, for example, a telephone network, anextranet, an intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point ofsale device, personal digital assistant (e.g., IPHONE, tablet, cellularphone, kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications,off-line communications, wireless communications, transpondercommunications, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),virtual private network (VPN), networked or linked devices, keyboard,mouse and/or any suitable communication or data input modality.Moreover, although the system 100 is described herein as beingimplemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, the system may also beimplemented using IPX, APPLETALK, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI, any tunnelingprotocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH), or any number of existing or futureprotocols. If network 110 is in the nature of a public network, such asthe Internet, it may be advantageous to presume network 110 to beinsecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific information related to theprotocols, standards, and application software utilized in connectionwith the Internet is generally known to those skilled in the art and, assuch, need not be detailed herein.

The various system components may be independently and separately orcollectively suitably coupled to network 110 via data links whichinclude, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)over the local loop as is typically used in connection with standardmodem communication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods.Moreover, this disclosure contemplates the use, sale or distribution ofany goods, services or information over any network having similarfunctionality described herein.

As used herein, a “cloud” or “cloud computing” may describe a model forenabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool ofconfigurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage,applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and releasedwith minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Cloudcomputing may include location-independent computing, whereby sharedservers provide resources, software, and data to computers and otherdevices on demand. For more information regarding cloud computing, seethe NIST's (National Institute of Standards and Technology) definitionof cloud computing SP-800-145 available athttps://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-145/final (last visitedDecember 2018), which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

A computing device 112 may include any computing unit or system and maytake the form of a computer or set of computers, although other types ofcomputing units or systems may be used, including tablets, laptops,notebooks, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, cellularphones, smart phones, set-top boxes, workstations, computer-servers,main frame computers, mini-computers, PC servers, pervasive computers,network sets of computers, personal computers, such as IPADs, IMACs, andMACBOOKS, kiosks, terminals, point of sale (POS) devices and/orterminals, televisions, GPS receivers, in-dash vehicle displays, and/orany other device capable of receiving data over a network. A computingdevice may include any device (e.g., a personal computer, a mobilecommunications device, and/or the like) which communicates via anynetwork, for example such as those discussed herein. Computing device112 may include software configured to communicate over network 110 andmay include one or more browsers or browser applications and/orapplication programs, including browser applications comprising Internetbrowsing software installed within a computing unit or a system toconduct online transactions and/or communications. For example, invarious embodiments, a computing device 112 may include (and run)MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, MOZILLA FIREFOX, GOOGLE CHROME, APPLESAFARI, and/or any software package available for browsing the Internet.

The computing unit of the computing device 112 may be further equippedwith an Internet browser, protocol or service configured to connect tothe Internet. Transactions originating at a computing device 112 maypass through a firewall in order to prevent unauthorized access fromusers of other networks. Further, additional firewalls may be deployedbetween the varying components of system 100 to further enhancesecurity.

In various embodiments, a computing device 112 may or may not be indirect contact with an application server. For example, a computingdevice 112 may access the services of an application server throughanother server and/or hardware component, which may have a direct orindirect connection to an Internet server. For example, a computingdevice 112 may communicate with an application server via a loadbalancer and/or a web server. In various embodiments, access is througha network or the Internet through a commercially-available web-browsersoftware package.

A computing device 112 may further include an operating system (e.g.,WINDOWS, iOS, UNIX, Linux, SOLARIS, Ubuntu, Windows 10 IoT Core, RISCOS, MACOS, and/or the like) as well as various conventional supportsoftware and drivers typically associated with computers and computingdevices. A computing device 112 may be in a home or business environmentwith access to a network (e.g., wifi). A computing device 112 mayimplement security protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) andTransport Layer Security (TLS). A computing device 112 may furtherimplement several application layer protocols including http, https,ftp, and sftp.

With reference again to FIG. 1, distribution device 102 may comprisehardware and/or software configured to provide automated orsemi-automated distribution of goods and execute processes or proceduresin compliance with regulations governing the goods. With reference nowto FIG. 2, in various embodiments, distribution device 102 may comprisea microcontroller 202 and/or a computing device 112 configured toexecute machine instructions or program code, such as, for example,distribution module 133. In various embodiments, distribution device 102may be vending machine, vending device or other electro-mechanicaldevice with a control board 206, relay switches 204, a plurality of itemstorage 214 internal spaces configured to store items and an item output212 configured to receive items from item storage 214 and distributeitems to a consumer. For examples of vending machines known in the art,see for example the distribution devices and vending machines disclosedat https://americangreen.com/ and at https://greenboxrobotics.com.Devices and software disclosed herein enable process automation,wireless control, supervision and authorization functions not present ingeneral service vending machines. The present invention enables hardwarevendor independence for automation, control and interoperability ofdistribution devices and systems that are agnostic to a particularhardware manufacturer.

Distribution device 102 may further be configured with hardware andsoftware for receiving data input, providing data output, controllingthe mechanical functions of the device, processing program logic, and/orthe like. In various embodiments, distribution device 102 is a vendingdevice with a keypad entry and/or a touchscreen for data input andoutput. In various embodiments, a general service vending device may beconfigured, as illustrated in FIG. 2, with a microcontroller 202.Microcontroller 202 may be configured to communicate over a networkand/or access various web services. Microcontroller 202 may be furtherprogrammed to execute instructions to translate commands or informationinto electro-mechanical signals and send the signals to a control boardof a vending machine in order to enable remote control and operation ofthe vending machine functions (e.g., set payment, dispense, return errorcodes, and/or the like). In various embodiments, the microcontroller 202may comprise a hardware serial input, a linux console, a memory and aprocessor. In various embodiments, microcontroller 202 may be an ArduinoYun or a Blackberry Pi. In various embodiments distribution device 102may further be configured with a computing device 112 which may executeprograms such as distribution module 133. In various embodiments,microcontroller 202 and/or computing device 112 may not be present in adistribution device 102. For example, in an embodiment, machine code maybe implemented to replace the function of the microcontroller.

With reference now to FIG. 3, a distribution device 102 with sensingcapabilities is illustrated. In various embodiments, distribution device102 may be configured with one or more sensors 302 and/or cameras 304.Sensors 302 and cameras 304 may collect data for security and reportingpurposes. In various embodiments, sensors 302 may be any combination ofheat, pressure, light or motion sensors. In various embodiments, sensors302 may be an electronic sensor or an RFID reader configured, forexample, to sense the location of a product in distribution device 102.In various embodiments, cameras 304 may be configured and/or positionedto provide images or video regarding the location or disposition ofitems in distribution device 102. In various embodiments, cameras 304may provide information on the condition of parts or the presence offoreign objects in distribution device 102. Sensors 302 and cameras 304are configured to send collected data to other systems and devices ofsystem 100 by, for example, using the networking capabilities ofmicroprocessor 202.

With reference back to FIG. 2, merchant system 120 may comprise hardwareand/or software for storing and processing data related to a merchant'sbusiness or operations. For example, in various embodiments, merchantsystem 120 comprises one or more of a point-of-sale system, an inventorysystem, a pricing system, a transaction database, an accounting system,a human resources system, a payments system, and/or a reporting system.

Regulatory system 124 may comprise hardware and/or software for storingand processing data related to regulations (as defined herein).Regulatory system 124 may include a database, program logic, interfaces,a process engine and interconnection with any system, device or programdisclosed herein. Regulatory system 124 enables compliance withregulations for any geography, jurisdiction, item, regulated good,product category, merchant, consumer, equipment, day, time, or otherattribute or parameter used in defining a jurisdiction. As such, invarious embodiments regulatory system 124 enables efficient anduniversal compliance with regulations. In various embodiments,regulatory system 124 includes a process engine that enables multipleregulatory procedures and requirements and any concomitant steps and/orsequence of operations. In various embodiments, regulatory system 124includes a compliance reporting function for reporting regulatedactivity for any regulation across jurisdictions and for any regulatoryor rule making authority.

Distribution system 132 may comprise hardware and/or software forstoring, receiving and processing data related to the distribution ofgoods and services (as defined herein). Regulatory system 124 mayinclude a database, program logic, interfaces, a process engine andinterconnection with any system, device or program disclosed herein. Invarious embodiments, distribution system 132 may be configured to beagnostic to the merchant, location, inventory or regulations related tothe items being distributed. For example, distribution system 132 mayreceive data from any system (e.g., regulatory system 124) regardingprogrammatic logic, steps, interfaces or data and distribution system132 may execute instructions, present and receive data, format andpresent interfaces, send and receive messages, control devices, etc.based upon the data received from other systems.

Distribution module 133 may comprise any software that includes all or asubset of the functions of distribution system 132. For example,distribution module 133 may be an application or app on a consumer'sdevice (e.g., a smart phone) and configured to receive suggestions foritems to be purchased and to initiate purchases of such items (asdescribed herein). In various embodiments, distribution module 133 maybe a program, application or app on a computing device 112 (e.g., atablet computer) and configured to present agent interfaces for thecontrol and administration of a regulated distribution process. Invarious embodiments, distribution module 133 may be a program orapplication on a computing device 112 of distribution device 102. FIGS.8-10 show examples of interfaces, in various embodiments, ofdistribution system 133.

CRM system 122 may comprise hardware and/or software for storing andprocessing data related to the distribution of items, goods and services(as defined herein). CRM system 124 may include merchant databases,consumer databases, consumer profiles, purchase and/or transactionhistory, product databases, suggestion databases (e.g., promotions,offers, vouchers and the like), program logic, interfaces, a processengine and interconnection with any system, device or program disclosedherein. In various embodiments, CRM system 124 stores, accesses,processes or creates any information related to a merchant's business.For example, in various embodiments CRM system 122 provides input to AIsystem 126 and receives output from the artificial intelligence andother analytic and predictive features of AI system 126 regardingsuggestions that may be tailored to customers, merchants, items and/or acombination of any of these. In various embodiments, CRM system 122 maybe configured to push notifications through a mobile application to aconsumer as a scheduled event or an ad hoc event performed in responseto an input from an authorized agent. Age-eligibility of a mobileapplication user and/or push notification recipient can be verifiedusing various techniques such as age-gating, passcode authentication,biometric authentication, image recognition authentication, and thelike. A passcode authentication procedure can be configured so thatcustomers are provided with a unique access code to follow the store onthe mobile application. This procedure may enable a store to monitor andcontrol follower volume. In various embodiments, CRM system 122 may beconfigured to provide for an ability of an authorized agent of anestablishment licensed to sell controlled substances, through either orboth retail and medicinal means, to advance schedule or send on commandadvertisements, licensed through a 3rd party web application, toregistered users that are within a predetermined geographic radius ofthe product dispensing apparatus and its integrated peripheral hardwareand software, enabling the machine to self-promote to a registered userbase within said geographic radius.

AI system 126 may comprise hardware and/or software for developingstrategies, suggestions, intelligence and other data to enhance aconsumer experience, promote products, optimize merchant operations orprofitability, increase market share, and the like. In variousembodiments, AI system 126 may implement artificial intelligence, bigdata analytics, statistical methods and similar forecasting and modelingtechniques. For example, in various embodiments, a suggestion for anitem may be tailored to a consumer based on a forecast of a merchant'sneeds, such as over- or under-supply of items, promotions and/orincentives offered by suppliers, item margins, inventory spoilageinformation, and the like. In various embodiments, an item may betailored to a particular consumer based upon a rule or a strategydeveloped or learned by artificial intelligence (AI). For example, itemsmay be promoted by way of suggestions based AI of any data disclosedherein. For example, AI system 126 may develop an understanding ofcertain dynamics of consumer and/or a market for a particular item anddevelop suggestions related to, for example, the fact that a holiday isapproaching, a particular type of news or event is occurring, that it isa particular time of day, that the consumer is traveling, that the itemis associated with a merchant who is some distance away, that theconsumer listened to a certain type of music, made a particular purchaseor viewed a type of content, etc.

In various embodiments, CRM system 122 and AI system 126 interactivelyor iteratively develop or curate, packages (i.e., groupings orofferings) of items that may be of interest to a consumer. CRM system122 may formulate curated programs targeted at a particular type ofconsumer or an individual consumer. In various embodiments, the curatedsuggestions are developed and scheduled to be pushed to consumer on adefined schedule and in some embodiments, curated suggestions aredeveloped dynamically over time and based upon changing information.

Referring broadly now to FIGS. 4-10, the process flows, logicalrepresentations, and/or screen shots depicted are merely embodiments andare not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. For example, thesteps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented. Itwill be appreciated that the following description makes appropriatereferences not only to the steps depicted in FIGS. 4-10 but also to thevarious system components and/or logical representations as describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1-3. In addition, although FIGS. 4-10 mayvariously utilize and make reference to one or more matrices, tables,and/or the like, it will be appreciated that a variety of datastructures, data sets, and/or the like may be substituted and/orutilized with equal application to the process flows, logicalrepresentations, and/or screen shots depicted and discussed herein.

With reference to FIG. 4, a process 400 for distributing a regulateditem to a consumer is shown. In various embodiments each of the stepsmay be performed alone and/or in combination with any other step.Accordingly, as shown, in various embodiments, a customer may enter amerchant and a present a credential to an agent for verification (step402). A credential may be, for example, a state issued driver's licenseor other identification, a medical prescription card, or the like. Invarious embodiments, a regulation governing a type of goods sold by themerchant specifies the type of identification and the verification testor rule that is to be used by the agent. In various embodiments, aregulation governing a type of goods sold the agent requires that theconsumer present credentials to a person (i.e., a live human); forexample, an agent of the merchant that is trained, licensed or otherwiseauthorized to receive customer credentials and make a determination ofwhether the customer is authorized to shop for, view and/or purchasecertain goods available at the merchant location.

In various embodiments, a regulation may require that a consumer be of acertain age to shop for and/or purchase a certain type of goods and/or aregulation may require that a consumer be a legal residence of a certainstate, county or other geographic area or jurisdiction to shop forand/or purchase a certain type of goods. In various embodiments, aregulation may require that the customer present a credential as arequirement for entering the physical premises of the merchantestablishment and present the same or different credential a second timein order to shop for certain regulated goods in an automated orsemi-automated manner such as using distribution device 102 (asdescribed herein).

In various embodiments, the agent scans the credential using a computingdevice 112 (step 404). In various embodiments, making a determination ofwhether the customer is authorized to shop for, view and/or purchasecertain goods available at the merchant location is performed by aperson and is also subject to a systematic verification. For example,the scanned credential data may be used as input into distributionsystem 132 or a module, subroutine or app (e.g. distribution module 133)comprising the distribution system 132 logic and the and the logic maybe executed by a computing device 112 in combination with regulationdata or rules from regulatory system 122, to determine that the customeris authorized to shop for, view and/or purchase certain goods availableat the merchant location. FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary notification thatmay appear on an agent interface of distribution module 133; forexample, the depicted notification may appear on an app which may beinstalled on a tablet operated by the agent. In various embodiments,regulations may not require physical, hard verification of a credentialby a person and for example, credential verification may be insteadperformed by scanning the credential at distribution device 102.

With further reference to FIG. 4, in various embodiments, the systemand/or the agent determines whether the customer is authorized to shopfor, view and/or purchase certain goods available at the merchantlocation (step 405). A customer may be denied access based upon, forexample, a determination that the credential has expired, the consumerhas been temporarily blocked from shopping for the goods and/or if areregulation regarding the good is not in compliance; an example ofnon-compliance may be that the distribution system 132 determines thatan accumulator has reached or surpassed a limit for purchase of a typeof good (e.g., consumer is only authorized to purchase an ounce ofcannabis product during any calendar day).

In various embodiments, the agent determines a distribution device 102to assist the customer in the ordering and/or fulfillment of goods. Theagent may determine a distribution device 102 from a plurality ofdistribution devices available at the merchant location using manualmeans (e.g., personal choice) or distribution module 133 may determine adistribution device 102 by executing logic to determine a distributiondevice based upon a variety of factors. For instance, certaindistribution devices may be configured to distribute different types ofproducts and/or distribution system 133 may maintain service time andqueuing data and determine a distribution device for the customer basedupon minimizing customer wait times. In various embodiments, thedistribution device 102 receives data from distribution module 133indicating that the customer is authorized to access the distributiondevice 102. For example, in an embodiment, distribution module 133,which may be running on the agent's computing device 112, encrypts thecredential data scanned from the customer's credential and sends anencrypted code to the distribution device 102. In various embodiments,computing device 112 may access distribution system 132 and distributionsystem 132 may access a secure encrypted hash table or an encryptionfunction and determine an encrypted hash code to associate with thecustomer. In various embodiments, customer accesses distribution device102 by scanning a credential or entering an assigned PIN using thedistribution device input hardware which may comprise for example, ascanner, keypad, touchscreen, etc. (step 406).

In various embodiments, the customer shops for and indicates one or moreitems selected by the customer (step 408). In various embodiments, acustomer may use a variety of means, interfaces and input mechanisms tocreate a customer order. In various embodiments, as discussed herein, acustomer may use an app of the merchant to shop for and configure anorder for distribution by the merchant and access the order details atthe distribution device. For example, a customer may enter an accountnumber or PIN or scan a voucher or a code (e.g. a QR code, one-time usecode, etc.) at the distribution device 102 and a shopping cart orcustomer order form may be pre-populated and displayed to the customerat distribution device 102. It will be appreciated that in variousembodiments, a PIN or code may be used by a customer to indicate anorder may be a one-time use code such as for a code communicated to acustomer by CRM system 122 associated with a particular promotion,discount or indicating pre-configuration of or pre-payment for an order.In various embodiments, distribution device 102 may determine a customerorder based upon information received by the distribution device 102from distribution system 132 or distribution module 133 during theassignment of the distribution device 102 to the customer. For example,distribution device 102 may retrieve a customer order from a database ofmerchant system 120 and/or of CRM system 122. In various embodiments,such pre-population of a customer order by the distribution device maybe based upon explicit input by a customer, for example, using an app.In various embodiments, such pre-population of a customer order by thedistribution device may be based upon a suggestion determined by CRMsystem 122 (e.g., based upon purchase history or other factors) andretrieved automatically by the distribution device 102. In variousembodiments, a customer shops for items at the distribution device 102using input and output hardware of the distribution device. For example,distribution device 102 may have a data output 210 comprising a videodisplay and a data input 208 comprising a keypad. In variousembodiments, a touchscreen may perform the function of both a dataoutput 201 and a data input 208.

In various embodiments, distribution device 102 performs a distributioncompliance test (step 410). In various embodiments, the distributiondevice 102 is configured to access distribution logic to be executed,for example, by distribution module 133 and/or distribution system 132and configured to assess the customer order for compliance withregulations. In various embodiments, distribution logic includes stepsto access regulations associated with the customer order. As discussedherein, regulatory system 122 may be configured to access regulatorydata from a plurality of jurisdictions, a plurality of licensing regimesand license types and for a plurality of items and, in variousembodiments, compliance with regulations may include a plurality ofrules or no rules, executed in an order defined by processes stored inregulatory system 122. For example, in various embodiments a rule isassociated with attributes of items found in a customer order. Suchattributes may include, for example, a weight or mass of an item, aconcentration or potency of an item, a type, category or classificationof an item, a consistency or state an item, and/or a purchase historyassociated with the consumer and various items. For example, in anexemplary embodiment, a state regulates distribution of cannabis and aregulation limits the amount (e.g., weight) that may be distributed to aconsumer within a given timeframe. For example, a state may allow fordistribution of up to one ounce of cannabis items per day anddistribution module 133 may execute logic to determine the cumulativeweight of the items in a customer order. In various embodiments,distribution module 133 may access CRM system 122 and retrieve apurchase history for the customer. Distribution module 133 may determinethe cumulative weight of items or a cumulative amount of an activeingredient in various items of a customer order and combine that datawith similar data from previous customer purchases (e.g., transactionsstored in the system for purchases that may have occurred on the sameday but in a different location). In various embodiments, distributionmodule 133 may be configured with an accumulator to calculate the totalamount of product being purchased and/or may be configured to determinethat an amount of product being purchased does not exceed purchaselimits, whether for a singular transaction, a calendar day, or someother time period. In various embodiments, while a digital order form isqueued and its submission pending, a preconfigured accumulator may limitthe total amount of products ordered. No order submission, whetherthrough prepaid voucher or onsite purchase, is allowed to exceed thespecified accumulator limit. In various embodiments, the total amount ofproducts ordered can be calculated or determined using a variety ofcriteria alone or in combination, including product number, productmass, product type, total quantity of one or more ingredients oranalytes, and the like. FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary interface ofdistribution module 133 that may communicate information regardingcompliance with a regulation to the consumer. For example, thenotification depicted in FIG. 9 may appear on a display of distributiondevice 102.

In various embodiments, distribution device 102 may receive dataindicating that one or more regulations is violated by an item or acombination of items in a customer order and not allow the customer tocontinue with distribution of the order (step 412). In variousembodiments, distribution device 102 is configured to prompt thecustomer to edit the customer order. In various embodiments,distribution device 102 is configured to determine one or morealternative items that may be in compliance with regulations and suggestan alternative order to the customer.

In various embodiments, distribution device 102 may receive dataindicating that the customer order is in compliance with applicableregulations (step 412). In various embodiments, distribution device 102transmits a distribution review request to an agent to perform manualreview and verification of a customer order (step 414). An agent mayreceive the distribution review request on an app running on a computingdevice 102. In various embodiments, the app presents data regarding theregulation and the items and attributes of the customer order on aninterface for the agent to review. For example, an in variousembodiments, an agent may be presented with matrix of data showing themass of each item in customer order along with data indicating purchaseswithin a particular time frame of the same or similar items governed bythe same regulation. Further the display may indicate to the agent aseries of calculations (e.g., cumulative weight) combining or comparingattributes of the items and assessing whether the order is in compliancewith regulations. FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary interface of distributionmodule 133 that may communicate information regarding compliance with aregulation to the agent. For example, the notification depicted in FIG.10 may appear on a display an agent device configured to rundistribution compliance and control software (e.g. distribution module133).

In various embodiments, the agent makes a distribution decision andtransmits a distribution authorization decision to distribution device102. Distribution device 102 receives the distribution authorizationdecision (step 416). In various embodiments, if the distribution is notauthorized, the distribution device may suggest an alternative order,prompt the user for alternative order input, and/or terminate the usersession without distribution of any product. In various embodiments, ifthe distribution is authorized by the agent then the distributionprocess continues (step 418).

In various embodiments, distribution device 102 is configured to receivecustomer electronic payment data, for example, such as transactionaccount information, customer account information (step 420). In variousembodiments distribution device 102 communicates and coordinateselectronic payments with merchant system 120. In various embodiments,distribution device 102 is configured to receive physical payment (e.g.tangible money) and completes the payment process with the customer. Invarious embodiments, distribution device may be configured to print anitemized receipt of the transaction for the customer. In variousembodiments, a receipt may be transmitted the customer via email or madeavailable in an app.

In various embodiments, distribution device 102 distributes the items inthe customer order (step 422). In various embodiments, distributiondevice is a vending machine and microcontroller 202 receives adistribution message to distribute an item or items. The microcontrollerconverts the message to an electromechanical command and causes themechanical instrumentation of the vending machine to move items of thecustomer order from item storage 214 to the customer via item output212.

In various embodiments, regulations may dictate that a person (e.g. alive human agent) verify the items distributed to the customer bydistribution device 102. In an exemplary embodiment, the customergathers the items and proceeds to the agent. Distribution device 102sends a message with a record of the distribution to the agent on theagent's agent interface on computing device 112. The agent may use theinformation on the interface to verify the distribution and authorizethe customer to exit the facility with the distributed items. In oneembodiment, at the authorized agent station, all products may bepresented to the authorized agent. At the station, the authorized agentmay confirm that the scanned ID matches that of the customer, that allproducts on the digital order form are accounted for, and that anynon-cash/non-voucher form of payment belongs to the customer.

In various embodiments, regulations may dictate that one or more itemsof a customer order be packaged in an exit packaging (e.g., a bag withcertain labeling) for exit out of the physical merchant premises. Invarious embodiments, exit packaging may be made available at or bydistribution device 102. In various embodiments, the customer receivesexit packaging from an agent or other employee of the store.

With attention now to FIG. 5, an exemplary process 500 illustrates aprocess for a suggestion sent, or pushed, electronically to a consumer(step 502). As discussed herein, in various embodiments, the consumerreceives a suggestion via one or more apps configured to receive datafrom CRM system 122. Transmittal of push notifications through a mobileapplication to a customer can be a scheduled event or an ad hoc eventperformed in response to an input from an authorized agent.Age-eligibility of a mobile application user and/or push notificationrecipient may be verified using various techniques such as age-gating,passcode authentication, biometric authentication, image recognitionauthentication, and the like. A passcode authentication procedure can beconfigured so that customers are a provided with a unique access code tofollow the store on the mobile application. This procedure may enable astore to monitor and control follower volume. In various embodiments, anauthorized agent interface, for example an app, may be configured toallow an authorized agent to send on command a push notification tomobile application users who previously elected to follow the store forwhich the authorized agent represents. In various embodiments, a mobileapplication may be provided as a free download from participating mobileapplication sources for consumers who attest that they meet applicablerequirements. In various embodiments, mobile application content mayonly be provided by a vendor. In various embodiments, the mobileapplication software may be configured to provide for push notificationsto be sent to in accordance to vendor-specified criteria. For example, avendor may select for a push notification to be sent to all of avendor's, e.g., followers, a vendor-specified group of followers, orfollowers within a particular radius of the peripheral device. Invarious embodiments, a disclosed herein push notifications may beformulated, initialized scheduled and/or controlled automatically by CRMsystem 122. Content of a push notification may include general storeand/or product advertisements, or promotional sales not otherwisedisclosed outside of the store. The promotion may include an option tobuy a related voucher, which may then be configured to load a uniquedigital key to the user's app, allowing him/her to scan the key onsiteat the product dispensing apparatus or a peripheral device. In variousembodiments, a mobile application user (or follower) who receives anadvertisement or promotion may elect to make a purchase, whether inresponse to a suggestion or making us of another in-app method. Invarious embodiments, the consumer interface, such as an app, may beconfigured to require the consumer to input a unique PIN, set up uponregistration, to proceed with a purchase. In various embodiments,securing a voucher for a product(s) may or may not require a follower toleave the mobile application and finalize the purchase using a secureweb browser. In various embodiments, CRM system 122 may be configured toprevent authorizing too many vouchers for a particular item by reservingand accounting for one or more units of the item in the productdispensing apparatus inventory. In various embodiments, a digital keyrepresenting a product voucher may be loaded to a user's mobileapplication. A digital key may be scanned by a system as an acceptablemethod of payment prior dispensing of a product by a product dispensingapparatus.

In various embodiments, the consumer may use the functions available inthe app to create a new order and/or edit an order that was pushed tothe consumer. In various embodiments, the consumer may review a tangibleadvertisement, such as a flyer or paper ad, and scan a code (e.g., a QRcode shown on the tangible advertisement) and thereby import dataregarding a suggestion into the consumer app. In various embodiments, aconsumer reviews the suggestion and accompanying order items. Thecustomer initiates purchase of an of the order (step 504). In variousembodiments, the customer enters an account code (e.g, PIN, password,biometric data, etc.) to authorize a purchase (step 506).

In various embodiments, the app initiates a distribution compliance testfor the customer order (step 508). As discussed herein, and particularlydisclosed in process 400 (e.g., step 410), in various embodiments,distribution system 132 and regulatory system 122 are configured toperform distribution compliance tests for a customer order. In variousembodiments, upon when the distribution system 122 determines that thedistribution compliance test has passed (step 510) the consumer maypre-pay for the order using the app. In various embodiments, the appcommunicates with system 100 and reserves in a merchant's inventory theitems from the order. In various embodiments, the app may be associatedwith multiple merchant locations and the customer order from the app maynot be limited to any particular location.

Distribution system 132 generates an order code corresponding to theorder (step 512). In various embodiments, the order code may be aone-time use code such as a digital key or token. Distribution system132 transmits the order code to the consumer (step 514). In variousembodiments, the code may be transmitted to a consumer app, to an emailaccount, a social networking account or via a messaging app. In variousembodiments, a consumer enters a merchant location and may follow atleast a portion of the process illustrated in FIG. 4 and describedherein. In various embodiments, the order code may be scanned by anagent at the merchant location. For example, with reference again toFIG. 4, in step 404 an agent scans a credential of the consumer, theagent may also scan any order code that the customer may present to theagent and the order may pre-populate on the distribution device 102 thatis assigned to the consumer. In various embodiments, with referenceagain to FIG. 4 in step 404 an agent scans a credential of the consumerand the system automatically determines an order code associated withthe customer based upon the credential and/or an encrypted code (e.g.,hash code) determined based upon the credential and the order code isused to retrieve the detailed data of the order on CRM system 122. Invarious embodiments, as discussed previously herein (see step 410), theconsumer may scan the order code using a scanning capability ofdistribution device 102.

In various embodiments as disclosed above, the regulatory complianceoccurs for orders that originate in an app during or prior to thecreation of the order code. As such, in various embodiments, an ordercode is scanned into distribution system 132 at a merchant may notrequire further automated testing for distribution compliance. Invarious embodiments, the distribution process proceeds with adistribution review by an authorized agent as disclosed herein (seeprocess 400, steps 414-424).

With reference now to FIG. 6, a process 600 for developing a suggestionby AI system 126 is shown. AI system 126 may acquire data from multipledata sources regarding the dynamics of a merchant business (step 602).In various embodiments, AI system 126 may acquire consumer profile, atransaction history associated with a consumer, social data (e.g., dataassociated with a social media channel, such as FACEBOOK, SNAPCHAT,and/or the like), demographic data, consumer feedback data, merchantsupply data, merchant goal data, and the like. AI system 126 may run anartificial intelligence algorithm to analyze the collected data andassign a correlation or probability to an item/customer pair (step 604).In various embodiments, an item-customer correlation may identifyrelevant items based upon a variety of information which may not bedirectly associated with a customer but may be correlated based upon amachine learning and/or artificial intelligence algorithm. For example,in various embodiments, an artificial intelligence algorithm determinesan item-customer correlation based upon at least one of a demographic, apurchase history, a complementary product, a product rating, a consumerlocation, a social networking attribute, a music service, a videoservice, a time, a date, a friend associated with the consumer, apromotion, a medical history, a physical characteristic, and a consumerhabit. In various embodiments, AI system 126 may match a customer-itemcorrelation with a merchant goal (step 606). For example, a merchant mayseek to increase its market share of consumers in a particular agebracket for ingestible (e.g. edible) herbal products and AI system 126may use big data analytic methods to develop a corresponding merchantgoal. In various embodiments, AI system 126 may formulate a suggestionbased upon the item-customer pair and the merchant goal (step 608) andcommunicates the suggestion to CRM system 126 (step 610). In variousembodiments, CRM system 126 may transmit the suggestion to a consumer ora group of consumers via any method disclosed herein (e.g., make thesuggestion available in the consumer's web app) (step 612).

With reference now to FIG. 7, a process 700 for remote intervention andcontrol of a distribution process is illustrated. In variousembodiments, the process of distributing goods to a consumer may beassisted by a remote agent. For example, during the distribution of anitem from distribution device 102 the distribution process maymalfunction (e.g., an item may fail to distribute properly) (step 702).In various embodiments, communication between a remote agent and aconsumer may be established (step 704). In an embodiment, thedistribution device 102 may include signage with information forrequesting assistance. For example, the consumer may be provided with aphone number, a website or a method of contacting a remote agent usingmessaging technology of a network connected device (e.g. a mobiledevice). In various embodiments, a distribution device 102 uses itsinternal networking technology (as disclosed herein) to provide afunction for a consumer to contact a remote agent. For example,distribution device 102 may have a data input/data output devicecomprising a touchscreen and the consumer may be presented with anoption on the touchscreen to contact remote assistance. In variousembodiments, communication with a remote agent may occur viadistribution device touchscreen or other display interface. In variousembodiments, distribution device 102 may be configured to contact aremote agent automatically if a malfunction is detected. In variousembodiments, a remote agent may initiate contact with a consumer, forexample via distribution device 102 interface (e.g. touchscreen).

In various embodiments, a remote agent accesses data collected bysensors 302 and/or cameras 304 of distribution device 102 (step 706).For example, cameras 304 may provide a remote agent with visual dataindicating a malfunction in the distribution process. In variousembodiments, sensors 302 may be configured to provide information of amalfunction to a remote agent. For example, a light sensor may providedata to the remote agent indicating that an item has become stuck initem storage 214 or in a conduit connecting item storage 214 with itemoutput 212. In various embodiments, items for distribution viadistribution device 102 may be affixed with a RFID tag or transponderand distribution device 102 may include an RFID reader for detecting theRFID tag and identifying an item that may be stuck in the device. TheRFID tag data may be registered and stored in an inventory system inorder to account for the precise item that caused the malfunction and/orfailed to distribute properly.

In various embodiments, a remote agent may take a corrective action toaddress a machine malfunction (step 708). For example, a remote agentmay verify that an item was not properly distributed to a consumer,initiate a refund to the consumer and/or contact a service technician toservice the malfunctioning device. In various embodiments, a remoteagent may make use of remote control capabilities of distribution device(as disclosed herein) to perform, for example, one or more of thefollowing corrective actions: disable the malfunctioning distributiondevice, initiate a distribution of an item on the malfunctioning device,initiate a distribution of an item on functioning device in the vicinityof the malfunctioning device, initiate a mechanical control to clear aphysical jam in the machine, etc. In various embodiments, the remoteagent may be a person. In various embodiments, the remote agent may be asoftware program (e.g., a bot). In various embodiments, the agent neednot be remote. For example, in various embodiments the functions of theremote agent (as described herein) are executed by a computer programexecuted on a processor of the distribution device.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown inthe various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data;and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operatingsystem (e.g., Windows NT, Windows 95/98/2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista,Windows 7, OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, etc.) as well as variousconventional support software and drivers typically associated withcomputers. A user may include any individual, business, entity,government organization, software and/or hardware that interact with asystem.

In various embodiments, various components, modules, and/or engines ofsystem 100 may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps.Micro-apps are typically deployed in the context of a mobile operatingsystem, including for example, a Palm mobile operating system, a Windowsmobile operating system, an Android Operating System, Apple iOS, aBlackberry operating system and/or the like. The micro-app may beconfigured to leverage the resources of the larger operating system andassociated hardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern theoperations of various operating systems and hardware resources. Forexample, where a micro-app desires to communicate with a device ornetwork other than the mobile device or mobile operating system, themicro-app may leverage the communication protocol of the operatingsystem and associated device hardware under the predetermined rules ofthe mobile operating system. Moreover, where the micro-app desires aninput from a user, the micro-app may be configured to request a responsefrom the operating system which monitors various hardware components andcommunicates a detected input from the hardware to the micro-app.

The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utilitycomputing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identitysolutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing,mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computingand/or mesh computing.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, or object-oriented structure and/or any other databaseconfigurations. Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitablemanner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may bea single file, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or anyother data structure. Association of certain data may be accomplishedthrough any selected data association technique such as those known orpracticed in the art. For example, the association may be accomplishedeither manually or automatically. Automatic association techniques mayinclude, for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP,SQL, using a key field in the tables to speed searches, sequentialsearches through all the tables and files, sorting records in the fileaccording to a known order to simplify lookup, and/or the like. Theassociation step may be accomplished by a database merge function, forexample, using a “key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors.Various database tuning steps are contemplated to optimize databaseperformance.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on thetransaction, merchant, issuer, user or the like. Furthermore, thesecurity information may restrict/permit only certain actions such asaccessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the userare permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may bepermitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogetherexcluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various entities to access a dataset with various permission levels as appropriate.

For security reasons, any databases, systems, devices, servers or othercomponents of the system may consist of any combination thereof at asingle location or at multiple locations, wherein each database orsystem includes any of various suitable security features, such asfirewalls, access codes, encryption, decryption, compression,decompression, and/or the like.

Encryption may be performed by way of any of the techniques nowavailable in the art or which may become available—e.g., Twofish, RSA,El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PKI, and symmetric and asymmetriccryptosystems.

The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped with anInternet browser connected to the Internet or an intranet using standarddial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol known in the art.Transactions originating at a web client may pass through a firewall inorder to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks.Further, additional firewalls may be deployed between the varyingcomponents of CMS to further enhance security.

Firewall may include any hardware and/or software suitably configured toprotect CMS components and/or enterprise computing resources from usersof other networks. Further, a firewall may be configured to limit orrestrict access to various systems and components behind the firewallfor web clients connecting through a web server.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS),Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and Microsoft SQL Server, are usedin conjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft NT webserver software, a Microsoft SQL Server database system, and a MicrosoftCommerce Server.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, Java applets, JavaScript, activeserver pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensiblemarkup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), AJAX(Asynchronous Javascript And XML), helper applications, plug-ins, and/orthe like. A server may include a web service that receives a requestfrom a web server, the request including a URL(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address (123.56.789.234).The web server retrieves the appropriate web pages and sends the data orapplications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services areapplications that are capable of interacting with other applicationsover a communications protocol, such as the interne. Web services aretypically based on standards or protocols such as XML, SOAP, REST, AJAX,WSDL and UDDI. Web services methods are well known in the art, and arecovered in many standard texts.

Middleware may include any hardware and/or software suitably configuredto facilitate communications and/or process transactions betweendisparate computing systems.

There are a number of methods for displaying data within a browser-baseddocument. Data may be represented as standard text or within a fixedlist, scrollable list, drop-down list, editable text field, fixed textfield, pop-up window, and/or the like. Likewise, there are a number ofmethods available for modifying data in a web page such as, for example,free text entry using a keyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes,option boxes, and/or the like.

The systems and methods may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the systemmay employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and/or the like,which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one ormore microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the system may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, VBScript,Macromedia Cold Fusion, COBOL, Microsoft Active Server Pages, assembly,PERL, PHP, awk, Python, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, PL/SQL, anyUNIX shell script, and extensible markup language (XML) with the variousalgorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures,objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, itshould be noted that the system may employ any number of conventionaltechniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, networkcontrol, and/or the like. Still further, the system could be used todetect or prevent security issues with a client-side scripting language,such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the systemmay be embodied as a customization of an existing system, an add-onproduct, a processing apparatus executing upgraded software, astand-alone system, a distributed system, a method, a data processingsystem, a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, any portion of the system or a module may take the form ofa processing apparatus executing code, an internet-based embodiment, anentirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of theinternet, software and hardware. Furthermore, the system may take theform of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code means embodied in the storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized,including hard disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storagedevices, and/or the like.

The system and method is described herein with reference to screenshots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus(e.g., systems), and computer program products according to variousembodiments. It will be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations,respectively, can be implemented by computer program instructions.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations ofthe process flows and the descriptions thereof may make reference touser windows, webpages, websites, web forms, prompts, etc. Practitionerswill appreciate that the illustrated steps described herein may comprisein any number of configurations including the use of windows, webpages,web forms, popup windows, prompts and/or the like. It should be furtherappreciated that the multiple steps as illustrated and described may becombined into single webpages and/or windows but have been expanded forthe sake of simplicity. In other cases, steps illustrated and describedas single process steps may be separated into multiple webpages and/orwindows but have been combined for simplicity.

The term “non-transitory” is to be understood to remove only propagatingtransitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquishrights to all standard computer-readable media that are not onlypropagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaningof the term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” should beconstrued to exclude only those types of transitory computer-readablemedia which were found in In Re Nuijten to fall outside the scope ofpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure isaccordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, inwhich reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean“one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’or ‘at least one of A, B, or C’ is used in the claims or specification,it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone maybe present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, Calone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of theelements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example,A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Although the disclosureincludes a method, it is contemplated that it may be embodied ascomputer program instructions on a tangible computer-readable carrier,such as a magnetic or optical memory or a magnetic or optical disk. Allstructural, chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described exemplary embodiments that are known to those ofordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by referenceand are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, itis not necessary for a device or method to address each and everyproblem sought to be solved by the present disclosure, for it to beencompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component,or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated tothe public regardless of whether the element, component, or method stepis explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to beconstrued under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unlessthe element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As usedherein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of, comprising: determining, by a firstagent in a computer-based system for distributing regulated goods to aconsumer, that the consumer is authorized to shop for the regulatedgoods; enabling, by the computer-based system, a vending device toreceive input from the consumer, wherein computer-based system comprisesthe vending device; receiving, by the vending device, input comprising afirst item selected by the consumer from a plurality of regulated items;transmitting, by the computer-based system, a distribution reviewrequest; receiving, by the computer-based system, a distributionauthorization from a second agent; and distributing, by the vendingdevice, the first item to the consumer.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining that the consumer is authorized to shop for theregulated goods comprises examining by the first agent a credentialassociated with the consumer.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thefirst agent is person and wherein a first regulation associated with theregulated goods requires manual intervention by at least one person. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the first agent and the second agent arethe same agent.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the credentialcomprises at least one of: an identification associated with theconsumer and a license associated with the consumer.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: scanning, by the first agent, thecredential to determine a consumer attribute associated with theconsumer; and determining, by the computer-based system, an encryptedcode based upon the consumer attribute.
 7. The method of claim 2,wherein the examining by the first agent of the credential comprisesdetermining that at least one of an age of the consumer and a residenceof the consumer are in compliance with a first regulation associatedwith the regulated goods.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising,determining by the computer-based system and in response to receivingthe input, that the first item is in compliance with a second regulationassociated with the regulated goods.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe second regulation comprises a rule associated with an attribute ofthe first item.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the attributecomprises a weight of the first item, a concentration of the first item,a type of the first item, a consistency of the first item, and purchasehistory associated with the consumer.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the rule is associated with the first item and a second item.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the rule is associated with at leastone of a cumulative weight of the first item and the second item, acombination of regulated items, a cumulative concentration of an activeingredient, and a timeframe associated with the purchase history. 13.The method of claim 8, wherein the first regulation and the secondregulation are dynamically determined based upon regulation data storedin a regulation data source.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theregulation data source comprises regulations associated with at leastone of a plurality of jurisdictions, a plurality of locations, a licensetype associated with the location of the vending device, and theplurality of regulated items.
 15. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: determining that purchasing by the consumer the first itemand the second item violates the rule; determining that third item whenpurchased by the consumer in combination with the first item, is incompliance with the rule; and prompting the consumer to select the thirditem and discard the first item.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein thevending device is at least one of physically located and physicallyconfigured based upon a second regulation.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein the receiving the distribution authorization comprises receivingthe distribution authorization by the vending device and sending acontrol signal to a mechanical distribution mechanism of the vendingdevice.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising distributing thefirst item and a second item to the consumer.
 19. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving the input comprises at least one of receiving by thevending device a key pad input, receiving by the vending device a touchscreen entry, scanning by the vending device a code, and receivingelectronically transmitted data from an online ordering system.
 20. Asystem comprising: a processor for distributing regulated goods to aconsumer; a vending device configured to communicate with the processor;a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with theprocessor, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructionsstored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, causethe processor to be capable of performing operations comprising:receiving, by the processor, a message that the consumer is authorizedto shop for the regulated goods, wherein the message is received by afirst agent; enabling, by the processor, the vending device to receiveinput from the consumer, wherein the system comprises the vendingdevice; receiving, by the vending device, input indicating a first itemselected by the consumer from a plurality of regulated items; receiving,by the processor and from the vending device, a distribution reviewrequest; receiving, by the vending device and via the processor, adistribution authorization from a second agent; and distributing, by thevending device, the first item to the consumer.